Docent Opportunities

Docent-led tours:

Our docents are volunteer guides who serve as resources for all of our visitors. They foster art appreciation and encourage dialogue, helping to ensure that our visitors have exciting and enriching experiences.

Guided tours are led by volunteer docents who are passionate about the histories our portraits represent and the cultures of the diverse peoples that shape our nation.

If you share this passion, and you speak another language, especially Spanish, we want to hear from you!

Some of our volunteer docents have a background in American history or the arts, while others do not. However, they all love to learn and are enthusiastic about sharing knowledge with the public.

Docents learn about our collection, gallery teaching, and audience management through workshops and training sessions with curators and educators, as well as other resources. Our volunteer docents must complete an initial 12-week course and be able to commit to the program for one full year. Tour schedules vary according to both Portrait Gallery and docent needs. We require a minimum of eight hours per month, to be distributed across various tours and training sessions.

Docent Training:

The next volunteer docent training course will begin in March 2019. Applications will be reviewed and invitations will be sent to selected applicants for interviews. Click here to find out more about the program.

Join Us!

To help provide an incredible experience to thousands of visitors from local communities and around the world, fill out the Online application by December 30, 2018.